According to the company, the two men who appear in the ad are “real-life dads Todd Koch and Cooper Smith,” and the jubilant children are their kids, Claire and Mason.
“First Pals: What makes Dad so cool?” reads the ad’s copy. “He’s the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver - all rolled into one. Or two.”
Back in February, the department store chain faced criticism from the American Family Association’s One Million Moms project for its hiring of Ellen DeGeneres to be the company’s new spokesperson. JCPenney refused to submit to the group’s bullying, and stuck by DeGeneres
